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Real Techniques Brush Cleaning System

Wednesday, 4 May 2016

Cleaning makeup brushes every week (well... most weeks) is a pretty crappy job so anything that helps make it faster and easier is going to be a huge win in my books! The Sigma cleaning mats have received a lot of hype in the blogger-sphere but I never got around to purchasing one, mostly because they are pretty damn pricey at $51. Thankfully Real Techniques have come to the rescue with an amazing a far cheaper Brush Cleansing Palette ($34.95) and a new Brush Cleaning Gel ($17.95) for the complete brush cleaning system.

As apposed to other mat designs, this one is a palette made to slide over your hand with a strap at the back. It is very comfortable to use and easy slide on and off. I also love that it has a lip at the edge so you can pool a little bit of water inside, which is especially handy for cleaning larger and less dense brushes.

The little raised cleansing nubs are in three rows of different sized textures. There is a larger, more widely spaced row which is great for larger face brushes. The middle row has a lower cross texture which was great for all my smaller eye and concealer brushes and finally, the very small smooth bumps in the final row are perfect for small, short and delicate liner and smudge brushes. I wasn't exactly careful and my brushes came through fine without any damage, even with the more delicate natural bristle brushes, so the textured surface definitely works but is still smooth enough to not do any damage.

I definitely found the whole process of cleaning my huge pile of brushes a lot quicker and easier. It usually takes me over an hour but the whole process was said and done in about 45 mins. It was also quite a bit more straight forward. The biggest difference was in washing my foundation brushes which are filled with product. Usually I would need to have a couple of goes at getting all the product out but the cleansing palette got all the dried in foundation out first go.

As for the Brush Cleansing Gel, I did really like it. It quickly and easily lifted most makeup out of my brushes. I think I still prefer my Daiso Detergent for Puff and Sponge ($2.80) because it is extremely inexpensive and works a teeny tiny bit better on dried in foundation. All in all though, this Real Techniques Cleansing Gel is very effective, has a pleasant but subtle scent and is much more widely accessible than the Daiso one. I really like it! So there you have my run down of the new brush cleansing system for Real Technique. To cut a long story short, you definitely need to check out these new products - especially the brush cleansing palette. Washing brushes is already a job we dread but these products from Real Techniques make it a little faster, easier and more bearable. Will you be rushing out to try them? Let me know in the comments below.